1. Automation Tools for UCS Sysadmins
Eric Williams
Technical Marketing Engineer
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2. What is the Cisco UCS XML API?

3. Cisco Unified Computing System
Optimized and Designed as an Integrated System
Cisco UCS™ Manager
(Read / Write Configuration Interfaces)
UCS Manager GUI and CLI
Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects
(Read Only / Cut Through Interfaces)
SNMP, Syslog, SMTP, SMASH CLP, CIM XML, Smart Call Home
20, 40, 48, and 96 ports
Cisco UCS I/O modules
Cisco UCS Blade Server Chassis
Cisco UCS Blade and Rack Servers
(Cut through Interfaces to CIMC)
Serial over LAN, KVM, IPMI
Cisco UCS I/O Adapters
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4. Programmatic Infrastructure
 Comprehensive XML API, standards-based interfaces
 Bi-Directional access to physical & logical internals
Self Serve portals
Management Tools
Auditing Tools
Direct
UCS CLI
3rd Party
UCS GUI
Customer
XML API
System Status
Physical Inventory
Logical Inventory
• Broad 3rd party integration support
• Faster custom integration for customer use cases
• Consistent data and views across ALL interfaces
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5. Use Case Examples for the UCS XML API
Manage Multiple UCS Systems
• Overarching system to maintain resource pools, users, policies, etc…
Monitor and Integrate the Event Stream
• Capture events, parse, store, report
• Create event gateway to monitoring solutions
Automate Issue Remediation
• Generate appropriate responses to events
Configuration Backup
• Export entire UCS Information Model
Firmware Image Management
• Ensure Firmware consistency across all components
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6. Managed Objects (MO)
Everything is an object
Root
Objects are hierarchically organized
Class identifies object type
Card, Port, VNIC…
Class Inheritance
Server port is a subclass of port.
A server blade is a subclass of compute entity.
Set of attributes
identity
Managed Object
references
states
lifecycle
UCS XML Database contains comprehensive system information
 Discovered components
 System configuration
 Operational status including statistics and faults
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descriptions

7. What toolkits are available for Cisco UCS
automation development?

8. Cisco Developer Network
Web based developer community
http://developer.cisco.com/web/unifiedcomputing/home
 Downloads:
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UCS Platform Emulator (UCSPE)
goUCS Automation Tool
XML API, Perl, PowerShell code samples
(44 and counting)
Microsoft – PowerShell library, SCOM MP
HP Software – HPOM, HPOO integration
modules
 Documentation:

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Programming & developer guides
White papers
Reference guides (XML model, Faults)
 Collaboration:
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Blogs
Peer to peer forums
Videos
Access to Cisco subject matter experts
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9. goUCS Automation Toolkit

10. goUCS Automation Toolkit
 UCS Manager: Know XML, no problem
 With goUCS: No XML, no problem
 Convert UCS Manager actions into
automation scripts
Linux & Mac OS X Support
HTTPS Communication Support
Tagged Based User Arguments
Performance Enhancements
1
Perform single action on UCS Manager and capture it
2
Create script in goUCS framework with variable substitutions
3
Re-run script over and over against single or multiple UCSMs
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11. goUCS Automation Toolkit
Invocation Syntax
goucs <session> <xml/cmd wrapper> <process type> <output type> <user args>
 IP address
 Web server port
 Credentials
 Determines execution
mode for commands
 REALTIME
 RAW
 OUTCACHE
 INCACHE
 Controls data output
location for returned data
 Multiple concurrent
sessions possible
 Sessions to multiple UCS
Managers
 Collection of XML
“functions” available to be
executed
 Can be derived from
running UCS Manager
 Storable for repetitive use
 Parameterized with
arguments passing
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 Arguments to be used in
conjunction with
parameters on the XML
wrapper
 Up to 10 arguments are
passable
 More than 10 arguments
can be passed answer
files
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 Output format control
 Indented XML
 Raw XML
 Quiet – no output
 xPath
 Comma Separated
Values (CSV)
 Table
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12. goUCS Automation Toolkit
Example: Automating VLAN Creation
1
2
Capture
Create
Perform the task in UCS Manager
Use goUCS filterlog to capture the transaction
mkdir <GOUCS_PATH>/xmlwrappers/CreateVlan
goucs filterlog trueco vlan10 vlan10:NAME @id:10:ID > CreateVlan.xml
Create the XML wrapper using the captured logs
Create variables for parameters
3
Execute
goucs createvlan realtime indent /name:TestVLAN /id:321
Run the command on one or more UCS systems substituting values for variables
Available now on Cisco Developer Network: http://developer.cisco.com/web/unifiedcomputing/goucs
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13. Cisco UCS PowerTool

14. Cisco UCS PowerTool
Bringing More Power to PowerShell
UCS PowerTool
UCS
The Essential Tool Kit
 PowerShell is the common management
platform used across all Microsoft operating
systems and applications
 UCS PowerTool is a Cisco-built, user-friendly,
PowerShell-based library that Microsoft tools
understand
 A simple way to utilize Windows PowerShell and
customize tools to business needs
Don’t reinvent the wheel…
…build on it
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15. Cisco UCS PowerTool
Key Supported Objects and Assets
 Service Profiles
 Chassis
‒ Policies (Firmware, Boot
Order, vNIC / vHBA config,
Storage, IPMI, SoL, BIOS)
‒ Hardware – Power Supply /
Fan Modules / IO Modules
‒ Pools (WWN, UUID, MAC)
‒ Power / cooling / network /
environmental statistical data
‒ Configuration Faults
‒ Config and Hardware Faults
‒ Launch UCS KVM for SP
 Servers
‒ Hardware - CPU, Memory,
Adaptors, CIMC)
‒ Power / cooling / network
/environmental statistical data
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‒ Pools (WWN, UUID, MAC, IP)
‒ Policy creation, manipulation,
deletion, and consumption
‒ vNIC / vHBA Templates
‒ Service profile template creation,
cloning, deletion, and consumption
Simplistic service profile creation (with a
limited scope of what is available to
configure)
‒ Hardware – Power Supply /
Fan Modules / Network
Expansion Modules
‒ Power / cooling / network/
environmental statistical data
‒ Power Operations
‒ Hardware Faults
 Fabric Interconnect
 Configuration Operations
‒ Network Elements (VLAN,
VSAN, QoS, Port Profiles)
‒ Config and Hardware Faults
© 2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Expert SP creation (use variabilized XML
w/ config file)
‒ Compare Managed Objects across
orgs and/or domains
‒ Sync Managed Objects across
orgs and/or domains
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16. Q&A

17. Presentation_ID
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